Although certain bodies do exist to examine complaints about the legal profession – namely the Law Society of Scotland, the Faculty of Advocates, and previously, the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman – an inquiry was undertaken by the Justice Committee in the Scottish Parliament into Regulation of the Legal Profession.  Aimed at addressing various public concerns about the system, the inquiry looked at the way the legal profession handles complaints.  While it concluded it was in the best interests of Scotland that the profession should still regulate itself, it recommended that the system should be reformed to make it more accessible, acceptable and representative of the public interest.

As a result of the inquiry, the Scottish Executive agreed that change was required.  The SLCC has therefore been set up to modernise the legal complaints handling system, to ensure that any complaints against the legal profession are resolved quickly and effectively.  It is a “one-stop shop” for complaints about the service given by legal practitioners in Scotland, where the problem cannot be resolved with the service providers themselves.  All complaints about the services received from solicitors and advocates will therefore be directed to the SLCC rather than the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates. 

To read more on the Scottish Executive’s consultation on the proposals for reforming the system of complaints handling, please see Reforming Complaints Handling, Building Consumer Confidence: Regulation of the Legal Profession in Scotland.  There is also information on the passage of the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill on the website of the Scottish Parliament.